A teacher came to a village carrying a covered basket. Each day he told stories—about seeds, sheep, and fishermen. The people listened and debated what the stories meant. One day a child asked, “Teacher, what’s in the basket?” The teacher removed the cloth. The basket was empty. “There’s nothing there,” said the child. “Exactly,” said the teacher. “The stories were never meant to carry the treasure. They were meant to make room for it.” Many people spend their lives arguing about the stories. But those who approach the stories with open minds find they have room for wisdom.

The first chapter of Genesis has been the subject of much debate over the years. Those debates have typically centered around the age of the earth and the length of each day of creation. Those who read the text literally tend to believe that the earth is relatively young at merely thousands of years old while those who read the text in a more figurative way typically see the earth as much older, somewhere in the billions of years. These debates have often gotten rather heated. Those who believe one way or the other tend to have very strong opinions on the matter. This morning, I have no plans to provide any answers regarding that debate. In fact, I don’t plan to discuss the debate at all.

Instead, I want to approach this story from Genesis chapter 1 in a different way. I want us to approach it with an empty basket, ready to be filled by the wisdom of God. This approach requires us to look at the text in a different way. Rather than reading the story to build our arguments or confirm what we already believe, today I want us to read the text from a worship perspective. The texts of the Torah and the rest of what we know as the Old Testament were written to teach us about who God is and what God wants for our lives. They were texts written for worship, not as a chronicle of historical facts or as a theological treatise. So, when we approach these texts, if we do so in a worshipful manner, we will likely find a very different sort of wisdom than we might otherwise expect.

So let’s take a look at Genesis chapter 1 as a worship text. In that setting, there are 5 things I want to point out:

1. Out of chaos can come life.

The text begins, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void. And darkness covered the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” The word translated as “deep” here is the word tahom. This is perhaps one of my favorite Hebrew words. It means deep or abyss, but in Scripture it represents the untamed, unfathomable chaos from which God creates life and beauty. The text speaks of darkness covering the face of the tahom. This chaos is veiled in darkness. But the Spirit, the wind, of God hovers over the chaos. The wind of God sweeps in and brings life from the depths of disorder and mayhem. When we read this in the context of worship, we find hope in these words. We find hope that chaos and distress and dismay in our lives does not have to be the end. In fact, for God it is often just the beginning. God’s Spirit will sweep over that chaos and bring you new life.

2. God comes to us in Trinitarian ways.

Today is a day in the church calendar called Trinity Sunday. It is a day on which we proclaim our belief that God is triune, one God in three persons. There is no easy way to explain the belief in the Trinity, but Scripture time and again shows us a unified God displayed in three distinct persons. Genesis 1 is in no way an explicit reference to the concept of the Trinity, yet we can see the Triune God at work in the story. God is the creator, who brings forth life, but God brings forth life by speaking. And we know in John 1 that Jesus is referred to as the Word of God. The Spirit is there sweeping over the chaotic waters from which this life will come. The three persons of the Trinity work together as the Godhead to bring about the creation of the world and everything that is in it…including each one of us.

3. There is a strong connection to Pentecost

The role of the Spirit here in Genesis is reflected in the Pentecost story where the Spirit of God sweeps over the chaos of all of these people from many nations gathered together who come from different cultures and speak different languages. The Spirit sweeps in and opens the mouths of the disciples to speak in a way that each person hears what they are saying in their own native tongue. What an amazing example of the Spirit bringing order from chaos. When our lives turn chaotic, we can pray to the Spirit to come down and lift us up.

4. The number of days of creation is meant to set an example for us in our living.

Whether we view each day of creation as a literal 24-hr day or not, I think we can all recognize the pattern that is being set for us. For six days, God created, God expended energy, God labored, but on the 7th day something different happened. On the 7th day, God rested. We read in verses 2 and 3 of Genesis 2, “On the sixth day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.” God’s pattern of resting on the seventh day becomes a pattern for us as well. In the Ten Commandments given to Moses for the people of Israel, God says, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work.” We can spend years debating the length of each day of creation, or we can recognize the pattern God set forth for us to follow in order to live healthy lives and to honor God in our weekly living. God is trying to show us the importance of resting each week and of devoting a portion of our time to the worship and honor of our creator God, the Spirit who hovered over the chaos, and the Word of life that brought order out of that chaos.

5. God sets for the role of humanity.

When God has created humankind, God says to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Often the word “subdue” here gets a lot of air time when discussing this passage. It is often taken to mean that humans are given the authority to use the creation in any way that benefits us individually. We can do what we want because we are in charge. The consequences of our actions don’t matter as much as our current happiness and success. If we view this from a worshipful perspective, we might see this as an encouragement to carry on the work of creation in the world. We are called by God to care for God’s creation in the same manner in which God brought forth that creation, bringing order from chaos and breathing new life into places that feel empty. God calls us to be like the wind that hovers over the waters and initiates the beginning of something new.

This life is full of chaos and disorder, but we are called by God to something different. We are called to be calm in the storm, peace in the midst of violence, love in the face of destruction, rest for the weary. Many of you are probably familiar with the song by Simon & Garfunkel titled “Bridge over Troubled Water.” Where you are of not, I want to share with you the lyrics of the song:

When you’re weary

Feeling small

When tears are in your eyes

I will dry them all

I’m on your side

Oh, when times get rough

And friends just can’t be found

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

When you’re down and out

When you’re on the street

When evening falls so hard

I will comfort you

I’ll take your part

Oh, when darkness comes

And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Sail on, silver girl

Sail on by

Your time has come to shine

All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine

Oh, if you need a friend

I’m sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind

In the story of creation, we are called as a people, as the people of God, to be a bridge over the troubled waters of life. Our worship of God is meant to show us how to create hope and peace and love and newness of life in our world. When the Spirit that hovered over the chaotic void and brought order from it, we were set an example by which to live and worship our God. So may we be like the wind over the troubled waters and lay ourselves down for the good of others, that they might experience the same life by which we were created and by which we are sustained. And may we feel the same Spirit moving in our lives, restoring our lives and showing us the way. In the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!